Louis Bergdoll mausoleum

1915

The tomb of Louis Bergdoll (1825-1894) recalls one of Philadelphia's earliest large-scale German brewers. According to a small bronze plaque at its base, it was erected by his daughter, Louise Bergdoll Alter, and by Elizabeth E. Schoening Rieger, Catharine W. Schoening Sauers, and Louise Schoening Shmidheiser [sic] in 1915. Bergdoll began brewing near 5th and Vine Streets in 1849 and soon expanded his operation to become one of the largest breweries in America. His business was ended by Prohibition. Bergdoll was a colorful man, fond of racecars and one of the first private citizens to own an airplane (a Bleriot XI, purchased from John Wanamaker). Nonetheless, his tomb is stoutly conventional, with its evocation of the Pantheon.